Reasons You Want to Minimize OSHA Recordables
As a business owner, you’re constantly looking for ways to minimize your overhead. If you have employees, one of the key ways of doing that is effectively managing workplace injuries. An essential component of that is keeping your “OSHA recordables” rate as low as possible. Core Medical Center can help.
Determining When an Injury is an OSHA Recordable Event
When an injury is considered an OSHA recordable event, it must be tracked by an employer in the appropriate OSHA logs. It may then become discoverable if OSHA requests documents or conducts an inspection. A “recordable” incident is not the same thing as a “reportable” incident, where OSHA must be notified.
Recordable events include a number of incidents, including:
- Medical treatment that requires more than “first aid”
- Fractures and punctured ear drums
- Loss of one or more days of work due to work-related injury/illness
- Any “significant” injury or illness diagnosed by a licensed medical professional
- Loss of consciousness caused by a work-related event
- Work restrictions or a change in work assignment related to workplace injury or illness
- Cancer or chronic irreversible conditions
- Workplace fatalities
Often, an employer can minimize the number of OSHA recordable events by reducing the number of injuries that are considered to require more than “first aid.” At Core Medical Center, we are familiar with the specific treatments that OSHA has defined as falling under the definition of “first aid” and will strive to use those methods to return an employee to work.
The Potential Consequences of a High OSHA Recordable Rate
There are a number of potential adverse implications of having too many OSHA recordable incidents:
- You may attract the attention of OSHA and face greater scrutiny, leading to more frequent and more comprehensive inspections, with the potential for more fines
- You’ll likely reduce costs of insurance and you may be a better candidate for outside investment
- Minimizing recordables generally means less lost work time and productivity, less need to train others, less expense investigating and implementing corrective measures, and fewer problems with employee morale and absenteeism
Contact Core Medical Center Today
At Core Medical Center, with offices in Blue Springs, Missouri, we work effectively with businesses and business owners to address issues related to workers’ compensation claims. To learn more about the many different ways we can help your business effectively manage workers’ compensation issues, contact us online or call our offices at (816) 427-0201 to schedule an appointment.
